#Chapter 160 – Sisters

“What,” I say, my mouth hanging open as I stare between these two women – both incredibly important people in my life, but people I thought lived in completely separate worlds. “How the hell –“

“Come in,” Emma says, getting to her feet. “Let’s close the door,” she murmurs, peering outside to see if anyone has seen them.

Ian and I obligingly coming into the room, Delia closing the door after us.

“Hi Delia! Hi Auntie!” Ian says, smiling at them. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“Yes,” I say, starting to get over my shock and feeling a little angry. “Would anyone like to explain this amazing coincidence?”

Delia sits down on the other bed and pats the comforter. “Come sit down, both of you,” she says, giving me an apologetic smile. “We have a lot to catch you up on.”

I do sit down next to Delia, angling myself so that I can look between her and my sister. Ian goes over to Emma, his hands wrapped around the straps of his backpack. “Can I sit with you?” he asks, beaming up at her.

“Of course,” she says, smiling at him. “Make yourself comfortable, baby.”

He does as he’s told, climbing up onto her bed and unzipping his backpack to take out some toy trucks. I watch him, knowing that he’ll pretend to play but that really he’ll be listening the whole time. I don’t begrudge him the knowledge, though – after all, he’s my co-conspirator now.

Seeing that my son is comfortable, I turn to stare at Delia – my best friend, whom I shared all of my secrets with in graduate school –

“How do you two know each other?” I ask, directing the question to her. In some ways, she has become closer to me than my sister in the past few years – closer than my own flesh and blood.

Delia shrugs and then says, quite simply, “I’ve known Emma since we were twelve. We went to tennis camp together every summer.”

“What?!” My face must be ashen with shock.

I don’t know what I had expected – maybe that they’d met each other in the past few months or years? Maybe connected through knowledge of me, or of Victor’s scandal –

But never, in a million years, would I have expected to hear that Delia’s relationship with Emma predated our own.

was the only part of our lives when we were really separate. It

look between them,

Emma says, picking up the story. “And I had married Joyce…Evelyn, I missed you, I missed you so much – but I knew that what I had done was unforgivable. Even though I knew that, I also knew that I couldn’t just have no idea where you were. So, I hired a

careful, worked so hard to be untraceable. But Emma – despite all odds –

“almost a year later. With those little

I come in,” Delia says, taking over. “When she found out you were going to a psych program, she remembered me saying, as a kid, that that was my dream job. Emma got back in touch with me – offered to pay my tuition, my room and board, and

I say, narrowing mine at her. “And report

the bed, Ian slowly moves his trucks back

told me what she saw. But honestly, Evelyn – it was just for peace of mind, to know you were okay, and I never told a soul anything what I knew. Not

reports – but Evelyn -” She shakes her head, holding my eye contact, willing me to believe her. “I promise you, everything about our friendship was real. She just paid me to keep an eye on you. I could have

unhappy about this turn of events. It felt,

I needed

and Delia clicked – a little jealous, of course.” She pauses for a moment. “I would have given…anything. To be out of my house. Living that life with the two of you, pursuing your goals, working for something. With those two little boys.” She glances down at Ian and I

its trials. And here was Emma, who for six years has been reading reports about how I had turned my life around and

I say, looking between them.

mind. No one ever knew, and I never interfered. Even when I wanted to send money, Delia wouldn’t let me. She said you were going to make it on your own.” Her eyes shine with

in the face for a minute. “I’m not happy about it,” I give them each a little glare, “but I

believing us. It was a lie but…beyond that big glaring fact, it was innocent. An act of sisterly

of them seriously, crossing my arms over my chest. “For

nods fervently. “Anything, Evelyn,” she says,

smile then, a little slyly, and pull my feet up on the bed, getting comfortable. “Good!” I say, grinning at them. “I’m cashing in now, then. You have to take me and Ian in for a couple of days. While we

what are you two doing here?” Delia says, frowning at me. She accepts without my complaint the idea that we will

a little bit. “It’s kind of a long story,” I say, grimacing. Then, I glance pointedly at Ian, letting them

the kind of story that we’re going to need some wine for!” Delia says, jumping up and grabbing her keys off the table.

and I both shrug, leaving it up to Delia, and she skips out of the

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